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Tag Archives: embellishments

When I art journal, anything goes. Sometimes, I move quickly and sometimes I am methodical. My art journal is heavily inspired by what I see around the time of creating. The page is rarely a long term planned project.

This page was created in about 45 minutes–lickety split. I came home from a meeting than ran late into the night…I needed to unwind.

I sprayed some Dylusions ink sprays and some acrylic paint onto my journal and blended a little. Then hit it with a heat gun. Once dry I used a gate stencil upside down with watermark ink and gold embossing powder.

Added my girl with Stabilo black “pencil.” She is part traced, part sketched. Yes, I just admitted that. It works for me. I don’t create to be a great drawer. I create for joy. Then I added embellishments. She has lovely flowers in her hair and a piece of pretty paper on the left page to coordinate. Some more sprays including Dylusions White Liben spray. Stamped an adventurous quote.

I tend to create with darker more grungy colors or by “tamping” down colors but I really enjoyed stepping out of my regular color treatment for a clean, crisp look. I also like the negative, white space. Intentionally trying to leave more white space in my journals these days.

It’s an oldie but goodie! I began art journaling with regularity some 6 or so years ago. At that time I joined Christy Tomlinson’s monthly kit subscription. I think when I began the subscription it was a scrapbooking subscription but pretty quickly became a monthly art subscription. I created this art journal page using Christy’s embellishments and tissue paper. If you are new or newish to art journaling or crafting on a regular basis and monthly subscription kit is a great way to gather the newest supplies. Plus when a kit comes you have to figure out how to use the supplies so it is a great way to push yourself to try new things. The challenge with monthly art kits is that eventually you have to stop them or move to a bigger house or studio as your cup will truly run over with crafting stash. It is never fun to give up a monthly kit but I certainly used a ton of really cool supplies while I was part of Christy’s kit. She still offers the subscription kits in some form or another.

I have always liked the quote, “Home, it’s where your story begins…” so when I received Christy’s ephemera kit with houses I new I was going to use the quote. I mean how perfect is the saying with a little house?

For this page, I covered the page with tissue and magazines then I added paint using free form and stencils. I added ephemera and embellishments from Christy and from an old card I liked. Then I added more paint and ink as well as rubons. I cannot remember now but this may be loosely copied from a Christy Tomlinson page. Thank you Christy Tomlinson for guiding me when I first started mixed media art journaling.

So sometimes creativity just happens. Actually, creativity is like a muscle the more often you use it the stronger it gets. So, when I am in my groove creativity just happens. The above tag took all of ten minutes. I love it for its easy home décor charm and its ease. All the embellishments, ribbon and even the tag is all premade. So, see anyone can create. I didn’t draw, stamp or ink a thing. I just collaged the pieces.

I fell in love with the ribbon and had to have some but had no idea what I was going to do with it just knew it looked like me. The same goes with the little hanger. I mean when you see one of those in the store how can you say, “no.”

The dimensional heart , banner and globe stickers (The stickers were part of a dimensional embellishment packet from Simple Stories) and the metal butterfly were in my stash as was the black chipboard tag. Layer it up ladies then call it done and Done.

Hi. Hello. I am so excited to share this tag as it not only showcases some great technique, it’s pretty and my baby boy (who is 10) took this amazing picture of it. I think the picture is just stunning! He is one of those uber creative souls that can turn anything into something beautiful. And when I say “anything I mean it. The beautiful picture below is of the tag while it was still a work In progress. A less purdy picture below his masterpiece shows the finished tag–amazing what a little more ink and embellishment does to a piece of art.

Creative Details: First I stenciled the tag using a polka dot stencil. I used Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and some Crushed Olive Distress Ink. I also added a squirt of Tattered Angels spray leftover from eons ago. I say, “squirt” because I love the color but the nozzle was partially obstructed which made for a bad spray. In any case the color worked perfectly. I edged the tag in matching Peacock Feathers Distress Ink.

After the first layer dried I stamped the tag with a script stamp in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I stained the ivory seam binding by crushing it into a heap and spraying it with Crushed Olive Distress Ink and Peacock Feathers Distressed Ink. While I waited for the binding to dry I fussy cut the butterfly and scrounged around in my die cut stash for some interesting shapes. I found a great swirl feathery die cut scrap and a music note die cut. I glittered the swirl feather in Peacock Feathers Distress Glitter. And because I can never leave well enough alone I added some silver-blue glitter from my stash. I like the dimension different glitters give. I almost always mix my colored glitters.

Once everything was dry I continued layering. I tied the seam binding around the bottom of the tag about a 1/4 of the way from the bottom. Then I hot glued the butterfly on top of the bowed binding. I then layered in the glittered piece and the music not die cut. This is when my boy got a hold of the tag and took that stunning photo above.

Finally, I tied some more of the fab died seem binding to the top of the tag, layered a dimensional flower embellishment to the music not die cut; edged the die cut with a Distress Vintage Photo Marker–I couldn’t use an ink pad as the piece was already adhered to the tag. Small-curvy die cut called for a marker edging job. Never as tidy or as dark but worked well with this tag. Now I call the tag done.

Good Morning! It’s starting to feel like a regular occurrence here. It’s my Tuesday Tag. As you may remember I was on a creative blitz last Sunday. It was one of those rare magical days where I accomplished so much I was pleased with. One of my creative successes was the tag below. It was an unseasonably warm weekend in So Cal and I had just purchased a Fiskars flower stamp set that was pretty, flowery and fun but not too cutsey (at least that is my opinion–pretty stamp). so I was inspired to invoke spring–I know that much of the US is currently suffering from unprecedented snow and cold so please use this tag as a bright spot in your cold winter day.

Creative Details: First I stenciled the tag in various citrusy colors with craft acrylic paint. Then I added black ink to the tag. Then it felt a little “hot” so I added so gesso and dabbed it off with a baby wipe. While the tag was drying I stamped my pretty new flower stamps onto a piece of book paper with black archival ink. I fussy cut the flowers out. I messed around with arrangement and added a green geometric shaped scrap on top of the stenciled tag so it wasn’t so busy. I modpodged the flowers to the stamp and doodled with a black ballpoint pen and a black acrylic Sharpie. Then since the tag was so spring like and citrusy I added more green in the form of ribbon. I added a charm from a broken necklace and called my tag, “done.”

I am trying out this Throwback Thursday idea…not sure I can make it fly. I am struggling with my various tech archives to share some blog postings from 2008-2011. We shall see.

In any case, when I was running Royal Tart, the boys were really interested in all the designs I created as well as all the neat arts and crafts I was making so I made them their own “tool” box kits .

Inside each toolbox: A glue stick, tacky glue, tape, markers, pencils, water colors, stamps, dimensional glue dots, scissors, stickers, embellishments, letters and other typography, rub-ons, etc. I also included an art journal that would’t fit in the very full, should I admit to overfull, tool boxes.

I managed to come across a bunch of “old” scrapbook stuff at a garage sale that had never been used. It was new but wasn’t what was currently on trend. The boys didn’t know and wouldn’t have cared had they known. I managed to fill each of their tool boxes to the very tippy top for only $10 each including the art journal. That was 5 years ago. They still have their toolboxes and still use them. I should probably get to refilling them with some new-old crafting stuff–they would love it!

Hi. My boys including the big boy went for a winter weekend away. I stayed home and worked through a creative blitz. I dropped them off at their meeting point at 6 AM, I designed and created all day and night. I finally called it quits at 12:08 am. I just love creative days, don’t you?

It was one long glorious day of crafting, creativeness and art. I worked on eight projects. I started six new projects. And I finished six projects. Two of the new projects I started aren’t finished, but that’s a-okay. They will be finished by the end of this week. Yippee! Nothing like completing a project unless its starting a project. Below are some images of what my day looked like! I loved my day! Thank you! It was a blast!

Hi. So this weekend I worked on some great creative pieces. One of these creative endeavors resulted in this very pretty tag. It is inspired by the beautiful, warm spring-like weather we are enjoying in Southern Cal. It may be snowing elsewhere but here it is 80. So, here is a tag that is part spring like and pink. A pinky spring tag!

Enjoy!

Creative Details : It’s all about the layers…I first stenciled a back ground using a circle stencil, polka dot stencil and a diagonal line stencil with various acrylic paints including Liquitex, Distress, Golden and assorted craft acrylics in bright pink, bright green and orange . Then I added black Distress and Golden acrylic as an accent.

As the paint was drying, I stamped a torn piece of muslin with “gorgeous” in black ink. I made sure to fray all sides of the muslin. I glued down the pink ball embellishment with hot glue. Then I added the ivory crochet ribbon under the balls. I hot glued the muslin to the top of the pink ribbon. I mod podged the pink flower to the tag being careful not to get any gluey stuff on the muslin. While the tag was drying I dug through my embellishments stash and found the perfect metallic silver leaves. I attached the leaves with hot glue under the muslin. I found a little fabric butterfly and added it to the top of the muslin. I tucked in a homemade embellishment I made– a flower I stamped on top book paper, fussy cut and covered in glossy accents.

The tag still needed something so I added a ruffle of pink crepe paper. I ruffled it without concern for exact ruffles or even spacing on the back of the tag using hot-glue. I trimmed up the bottom of the ruffle so it was even. Then finally I added black rub-ons and polka-dotted the entire tag except the flower and embellishments with a white acrylic Sharpie Paint Pen. And finally I added a piece of ivory binding ribbon I stained with Distress Stain through the top hole of the tag. A perfectly pink spring tag.

Happy Valentine’s Day Eve! Here is a vertical Valentine’s banner (say that ten times fast!). I designed and created it a few years ago for a book club Sweatheart’s dinner party. If you need to make a quick banner for Valentine’s Day look no further than old book paper, glitter, embellishments and some old keys. Easy and cute without being cutsey.

Trish

I am a creative soul. I love to create. decorate & celebrate. I live in a small, quirky townhome on a teeny-tiny lake in an L.A. suburb with my little guys and my big guy and a goldfish named Lightening.